The hoodie that Shearman & Sterling’s Yas Banifatemi wore as she prepared for trial in October 2012 had the Russian word for “Victory” on the back. On the front was a shirtless Vladimir Putin riding on the wings of a raptor.
Banifatemi was about to second-seat a $114 billion arbitration brought by the majority shareholders of OAO Yukos Oil Company against the Russian Federation. To raise the spirits of the Shearman team as they prepped their case, she had sponsored a contest for joke T-shirts and sweatshirts. Other lawyers wore T-shirts displaying Putin as Uncle Sam, pointing his finger and declaring, “I want Yukos!”
